President Biden hailed screenwriters and producers Monday for reaching a tentative agreement to end a long-running writers strike that upended Hollywood and prime-time television shows for months.
The Writers Guild of America told members it reached a good deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers after nearly five months of striking over demands for better pay from major studios, including residuals for reruns of their work on streaming services.
Mr. Biden said the agreement, which must be voted on by the union, will “allow writers to return to the important work of telling the stories of our nation, our world — and of all of us.”
“This agreement, including assurances related to artificial intelligence, did not come easily,” he said. “But its formation is a testament to the power of collective bargaining. There simply is no substitute for employers and employees coming together to negotiate in good faith toward an agreement that makes a business stronger and secures the pay, benefits, and dignity that workers deserve.”
Mr. Biden says he is the most pro-union president in U.S. history. He’s inserting himself in a number of labor standoffs, including a strike by United Auto Workers that threatens a major sector of the economy.
The president will travel Tuesday to Michigan to join the picket line and echo workers’ demands.
The visit is also an attempt to head off former President Donald Trump, who will rally with auto workers on Wednesday instead of joining the GOP presidential field at the second primary debate in California.
Mr. Biden says workers deserve higher pay as automakers and other sectors see better profits.
“I urge all employers to remember that all workers — including writers, actors, and autoworkers — deserve a fair share of the value their labor helped create,” Mr. Biden said Monday.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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